Rome, between history and secrets

Describing Rome in a post is a mission impossible. However, from this point of view, I am in a privileged position, having visited Rome many times as a tourist and, years later, to live as a resident.

I can therefore tell Rome from two points of view, describing the most popular places for tourists, as well as those a bit hidden, the so-called “Secret Rome,” which usually tourists do not know or ignore and that even the Romans often do not know. It is said that it’s not enough a lifetime to see all the sights of Rome. And it is true: this is the reason why I finally decided to dedicate a post dedicated to the “Capital” (like Romans like to call their city), to tell known aspects and reveal some lesser known. For example, did you know that:

Rome is the city with the most Egyptian obelisks in the world? And that among these there is the highest in the world?

Perhaps they are things that you know, or maybe not.

Sometimes, visiting a European city, I have the feeling that everything is “fake” pre-packaged, as if the city you are visiting is made for the exclusive use of tourists. Well, Rome is the exact opposite. It’s a genuine city, lived (maybe too much), where the tourist has to jostle side by side with the Roman citizen to be able to benefit from the (already not exceptional) public transports, shops or bars, where the Coliseum is just over a roundabout for the city traffic. This just because the center of Rome, in addition to being a true open-air museum, is also a place of work, of housing, of people living their daily lives. Such feelings I experienced a few times, maybe in London and Athens (but they have much less to see than in Rome) but not, for example, in Prague or Amsterdam.

Moreover, Rome is a sum of many cities. It can be said that over the 27 centuries since its foundation (as known, on April 21, 753 BC, at least according to legend) overlap different “Romes”: the ancient Rome, with the Coliseum and the Roman Forum; Baroque Rome, with countless works of Bernini and Borromini, the architects who more than others have influenced the current skyline of the city; the Rome of ‘800, just made out of squares, historic buildings, fountains, parks. And then there is the sacred Rome, with Vatican but also with several hundred churches that dot the streets of the city; institutional Rome, with all the Palaces of Italian and aVatican power.

By visiting the photo gallery you can see, in addition to the more usual famous monuments around the world, even the most hidden and least known of the capital that hardly tourists visiting, often because it is well hidden among the narrow streets of the old town, but also because, given the enormous amount of monuments and the relatively short time usually available, it is inevitable for the tourist to make a choice on the monuments to visit and which to ignore. Then, being a resident of Rome, the gallery will inevitably enriching.

And then, we want to say? A blog that wants to talk about trips just can not regardless of Rome, among the most visited cities in the world.

The central part of the city is full of clubs and cafes aimed mostly at tourists. For a genuine pizza, among the thousands of pizzerias in Rome, I may some pizzerias (click on the name for my review on TripAdvisor.

For an ice cream, I strongly recommend a stop at “Giolitti” ice cream, a few steps from Piazza Montecitorio, a little expensive (an ice cream no less than 3,50 euro coast) but it’s worth it. Click here for my review on TripAdvisor.